


Wreck

by captaincastle



Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Dreams, F/M, Flashbacks, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 07:24:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13026099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captaincastle/pseuds/captaincastle
Summary: Frank remembers moments from his life with Maria he wishes he could have back. The good, and even the bad.





	Wreck

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr request: but some sort of angst fluffy shot of Frank and Maria when he was on a break from a previous tour. Maybe something where Maria gets hurt or is in danger and he takes care of her and she gets a look at how he is when he’s working/in the zone and she’s super proud of him.

Maria’s fingers weave through Frank’s beard. Her nails gently scratch his jaw and his chin. A soft groan escapes Frank’s lips. Her lips press onto his and she smiles from the beard tickling her lips. Her hands comb through his dark curls and she presses his bearded face on her neck and chest. 

He kisses her skin, and his beard scrapes her flesh. He feels her shiver under him. 

“I like this,” she smiles. 

“That right?” Frank replies with a slight smirk. 

“I wish you had this when I was alive, so I could’ve enjoyed all the benefits of it,” she purrs. 

Oh. 

For a brief moment, Frank could feel her fingers, he could feel her breath. Those dreams feel so real. Then he remembers. She’s gone. He knows she would’ve liked his beard. She always liked his scruff when he had it. 

He rolls over in the dark to find sleep, this time his dreams are haunted by a nightmare, one that was all too real. 

Years before the carousel, Maria had almost lost her life. She’d been in a severe car accident. 

Frank dreamed of the wreck, and when he woke up he remembered everything about those few days. At the time that was one of the worst days of his life. 

He remembered how it took every ounce of willpower not to tackle the guy to the ground that crashed into Maria. If she wasn’t hurt then Frank might’ve hit him. Besides, the cops were about to be on the scene in any moment. Looking at the blood on Maria’s arm, Frank couldn’t believe the day turned out like this. He’d been home from tour for a week. 

Fondly Frank smiles in memory of meeting them after that tour. 

Maria, little Lisa, and his infant son met him at the airport. Frank beamed seeing his little family. It’s grown since he last saw them - Maria was pregnant with Frank Jr when Frank left. Lisa was holding Maria’s hand, and Frank Jr was strapped to his mom’s chest. Little Lisa babbled and waved hello to her daddy, and Frank scooped her up in his arms while he kissed Maria deeply. “Hey you,” Frank smiles at his wife. 

Gently, Frank touched Frank Jr’s head. He reached for his son, but Frank Jr cried in fear of the stranger trying to hold him.

“It’s ok Frank,” Maria whispered and gently patted her husband’s arm. 

“You talkin’ to me or him?” Frank says with a soft smile. “That’s gonna be confusing isn’t it?” he teases with a wink. He’s still a little hurt - but he doesn’t want her to know. 

“I just thought there should always be a Frank around,” Maria smiles kissing her son on the head. She squeezes Frank’s hand as he leads her out of the airport.  
Maria tosses Frank the keys to his car, “you wanna drive?” 

“Where’s your car?” Frank asks while Maria puts Frankie into his car seat. 

“I thought you’d want to drive. My car is in the shop.” 

Lisa babbles happily in Frank’s arms and gives him a couple slobbery kisses. “Hey sweetheart,” Frank laughs trying to get his fidgety girl into her car seat. 

“Why’s your car in the shop?” his eyes catch Maria’s while they buckle in their children. 

“Something wasn’t working right, and I couldn’t wait for you to get home to try and fix it.” 

Frank thinks about the irony. Her car had been in the shop. A few days after he came home from the tour, he and Maria went to pick up her car. It was on the way back home that her car was hit. 

The kids were in Frank’s car luckily, their car seats were still inside his truck. And Frank had been so happy to have that moment with just his babies. He remembers looking in the rear view mirror at Maria behind him - she was singing along to the radio when suddenly he saw another car slam into her. 

Panic hit him and he stopped his car and ran to help his wife. She’d been knocked unconscious from the blow, and her arm was bleeding. 

His car could’ve been hit and his children could’ve been hurt. But staring at his injured wife didn’t make that scenario any better. Her car door is bent in a way that Frank can’t get it open no matter how hard he tries. 

When the paramedics arrive, they carefully get her out. 

Frank remembers the ache in his chest when she asked about her children, and she asked if Frank was ok, as if she didn’t remember that he was home. 

As long as Frank lives he will never forget waiting in the hospital with his babies while his wife drifted in and out. He wishes for that pain now. He’d do anything to hold his babies again, and have a wife alive that’s sore and has a broken arm, than nothing. 

The joy he felt watching Lisa run around the waiting room, happily finding anything in there to be a fun toy. Frankie was still unsure, but once he realized Frank had food for him, his trust was won. 

Frankie was asleep in Frank’s arms, and Lisa was asleep in her daddy’s lap when the doctor came to tell Frank that Maria would be just fine. 

Maria’s arm was broken, so some of her tasks were not as easy to do when she got home. Frank made her get some rest and he would take care of the kiddos. 

Lisa was a little sleepy from the long afternoon. So when Frank told her mommy was taking a nap, Lisa wanted to nap too. 

That left Frank alone with his son. 

He’d been home a week but not had the chance to really bond with his boy. Frankie was a tired too - his nap time had been interrupted. He was restless and wriggly in Frank’s arms, to solve this problem - Frank got his son something to eat. Once he had a full stomach, Frankie’s eyes got heavy and he conked out in Frank’s arms. 

For as long as he could he cradled his son before he took him to his crib. 

He checked on Lisa and his wife, and all was quiet in the house. 

Frank glanced at his watch to see that it was 5:30 pm, and everyone in his house is asleep but him. He enjoys the peace and takes that opportunity to cook dinner for his wife. 

He cleaned up a bit in the kitchen, started on dinner, and took out the trash. Finally something normal. Without fail Frank struggled to adjust back to normal life after a tour. He had been struggling but the wreck seemed to pull him out of it. 

In the kitchen, Frank turned on the faucet to run some hot water for the dish he was making. Periodically he stuck his fingers into the stream to test for the warm water. None came. 

Quietly he went into the hall bathroom to test the hot water in that sink. It ran just fine. 

While his family slept, Frank went to the garage to get his tools. The set was dusty from not having been touched in over a year. He set to work on the faucet, and in no time he’d solved the problem. He wondered how long that had been broken, and why Maria didn’t say anything or have someone fix it. 

“Thank you,” Frank heard her voice behind him. “That’s been broken for months.” 

“Why didn’t you call someone?” Frank asks drying his hands with his work rag. 

Maria flushes slightly, “I didn’t want to call anyone, I wanted it to be you.” 

She closed the gap between them and gently touched Frank’s face with her hand. Her broken arm was pressed against her body in a sling. 

Her fingers brush against his stubble and she kisses his lips. 

“I like this,” she smiles, referring to his stubble. 

“That right?” Frank replies with a slight smirk. 

“I wish I wasn’t so sore, so I could enjoy all the benefits of it,” she purrs.

Hearing her voice, and seeing that look in her eyes makes Frank ache. It’s been over a year since they made love, and right now he’d do anything to strip her naked and make love to her in that kitchen. But her body is aching, and she doesn’t need that kind of exertion. 

“Don’t,” Frank teases her. “You’re in no condition.” 

“I know,” she whines and rests her head against Frank’s shoulder. 

“Besides I’m makin’ you dinner, I’m busy,” he winks. 

“What are you making?” she asks, and Frank hoists her up onto the counter. 

“Tryin’ one of your recipes for pasta.” 

Frank thinks back on that moment with a smile. He’d been so happy to cook for her. He knows if she hadn’t been in such pain, they would’ve have definitely made love that night. 

He feels that ache again when he thinks of that first time after she felt better. Her arm was still broken, and Frank had done a lot of cooking and taking care of the kids that week so Maria could heal up. When her body wasn’t so sore, she was sitting up on the counter again, while the kids napped. 

Frank slid off her pants and knelt in front of her, and upon her request - he didn’t shave so she could feel the stubble burn between her legs. After he pleasured her, he helped her off the counter and they made love on the kitchen floor. 

For a moment, Maria felt embarrassed at how un-sexy her cast was on her arm, but it was soon forgotten when Frank’s hands were wandering her body. She sat on top of him, and he helped her move - she only had one good arm to support herself. 

Happy married sex while his children slept. Fixing the sink for his wife, and making her dinner. Tucking his daughter into bed, feeding his infant son his supper. All things he misses. He never took any of those things for granted then - he knew he wouldn’t always be around for those moments as a marine. A part of him is grateful he was so aware of how much those moments meant. 

He can’t believe he actually misses that day of worrying about his wife in the hospital.

He strokes his beard one last time, he has to shave it to get ahead of Micro. He knows Maria would have liked it. 

Will he always think of her in everything he does? Even when he shaves? 

The razor hums and he can just see Maria in that tiny room with him. 

“You gonna let me feel that beard one more time before you get rid of it?” she might have said with a wink. What Frank wouldn’t do to hold her again, to taste her again. 

All he has now are memories and dreams.


End file.
